Paris 2024: What is the difference between Final A and Final B in rowing at the Olympic Games? What is the repechage?
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Published 01/08/2024 at 19:47 GMT+1
If you have ever wondered why there are multiple finals in rowing at Paris 2024 there is a simple explanation. Every boat is given the chance to place themselves, much like the rugby sevens teams are eventually ordered from first to last. The repechage is a way for talented losers to still have a chance at a medal. It might surprise you that sculling is, technically speaking, not 'rowing'.
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For something that looks so straightforward, rowing is a complicated sport at the best of times.
From sculling to sweeping, coxes and catching crabs, it is not always entirely clear what rowing experts are referring to.
And the multiple finals system is no exception, with a ‘Final B’ taking place immediately before ‘Final A’ and in some cases, finals marked C-F happening separately.
But what is the difference between Final A and Final B? Do rowers compete for medals in all the finals? And what are repechages?
In short, Final A is for the winners of the semi-finals and Final B is for those who are eliminated.
With just six lanes available at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the multiple final system allows for every crew or individual to achieve a final placement.
The top three boats from each semi-final progress to Final A, while the other trio move onto Final B, with no consideration for faster times.
Medals are only awarded to the top three finishers in Final A, but nevertheless it is considered a fine achievement to win Final B, and in rare cases, the B winners finish in a quicker time than the A winners.
A repechage, meanwhile, is a way for unfortunate losers in the heats to still qualify for Final A, given the possibility of a certain heat containing more than three teams with the potential to reach an a A final.
For example, in the heats of the women’s quadruple sculls, a discipline eventually won by Great Britain, Switzerland failed to qualify for Final A despite their time of 6:16.91 being enough to progress if they were in the other heat.
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The Swiss duly won the repechage by almost two seconds and, along with China, competed in Final A, where they finished fourth, just 0.42s short of a podium place.
For events with larger fields, like the men’s and women’s single sculls which both had over 30 boats competing in the heats, as many as six finals take place.
In the case of fields which are not divisible by six, the last final can have as few as two boats, as the women’s single sculls Final F proved - Togo’s Akoko Komlanvi and Morocco’s Majdouline El Allaoui facing off in a straight head-to-head battle for 31st place.
What is sculling?
Technically speaking, sculling is not ‘rowing’ and thus there is a distinct difference between the women’s quadruple sculls and the women’s four.
Sculling refers to when the ‘rowers’ use two oars to propel themselves backwards, while ‘rowing’ refers to when each crew member is in charge of a single oar.
This is why there is no straight ‘men’s singles’ or ‘women’s singles’, given that a solo oar-wielder would very quickly end up going literally in circles.
The three ‘rowing’ events are the pair, the four and the eight, while the three sculling events are known as the single sculls, the double sculls and the quadruple sculls.
What is lightweight rowing?
There is one more discipline at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the men’s and women’s lightweight double sculls.
Given the extreme physical requirements for elite professional rowers - British Rowing expressly state they look for females 5’10 and males 6’2 or taller for their Olympic pathway - a separate category was established for those not blessed with long levers.
At international level, a lightweight crew average cannot exceed 70kg with no individual rower above 72.5kg for men, while the limits are 57kg and 59kg for women.
First added to the Olympics in 1996, the lightweight category in rowing is making its final appearance at a Games this summer.
But even though it will be removed from Los Angeles 2028, there will be a new discipline in the form of beach sprint rowing, where athletes start and finish on land, with a mini-slalom on the water.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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